GoTo Blogs

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Fire Dog Lake has the full text of Senator Kennedy's speech on the occasion of the awarding of this citation to two men, Alberto Moro and John Murtha. This is an occasion to forego snark and to realize that America can still be a great nation if it so chooses, even if the reason for being great is fighting against its own government. (quotes from Fire Dog Lake's reproduction of the speech)

He was determined to fight for the rule of law, even against powerful opponents and the chief champions of the torture policy at the highest levels of government......In standing up for his beliefs against torture as Counsel for the Navy, Alberto Mora embodied Edmund Burke’s famous words, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”.....Faced with irrefutable evidence that by condoning torture, the government was acting, he said, in a way “clearly contrary to everything we were ever taught about American values,” and he felt compelled speak truth to power.

John Murtha is a vivid example of the words of President Kennedy in “Profiles in Courage,” “A man does what he must – in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures – and that is the basis of all human morality.”........last November, he decided as a matter of conscience to speak the unvarnished truth. He stated publicly that our troops in Iraq had done all they could, and it was time for them to come home......Through all the attacks on his patriotism, he never wavered or backed down from his strong view. His courage in speaking out touched the entire nation, and he continues to do so......Last week, he called on the Marine Corps to disclose the full truth about a shocking incident involving the death of a Marine followed by the death of numerous civilians supposedly in a bus in Haditha last November......As Andrew Jackson said, “One man with courage makes a majority,” and John Murtha has proved the truth of those words in our own time.

I have nothing but the deepest respect for these two men. Their ideals will prevail. It just might take some time.